The Scentre Group Ltd (ASX: SCG) share price is in focus after the company announced Australian Retirement Trust (ART) will acquire a 19.9% stake in Westfield Sydney for $864 million. Scentre will retain an 80.1% interest and remain property, leasing, and development manager.

What did Scentre Group report?

• ART to acquire 19.9% of Westfield Sydney for $864 million
• Transaction price reflects June 2025 book value and a 4.69% capitalisation rate
• Scentre retains 80.1% ownership post-transaction
• Westfield Sydney drew over 33 million customers and generated $1.1 billion in sales during 2024
• Settlement of the transaction is expected in early February 2026

What else do investors need to know?

This deal follows Scentre Group’s recent move to jointly venture 50% of Westfield Chermside in Brisbane with Dexus funds, signalling the group’s strategy to introduce fresh third-party capital. Scentre has now announced approximately $2.2 billion in new capital through joint ventures during 2025.

Including previous sales of Westfield Sydney’s office towers, Scentre Group has now realised about $2.4 billion in total value from the precinct. The company’s remaining 80.1% share of Westfield Sydney is now valued at $3.5 billion, almost four times its capital investment since acquiring the asset.

What did Scentre Group management say?

Scentre Group CEO Elliott Rusanow said:

We are very pleased to establish a new strategic partnership with Australian Retirement Trust. Westfield Sydney is an iconic destination located in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, visited by more than 33 million customers each year and generating total business partner sales in excess of $1.1 billion… Introducing new capital, through joint venturing our assets, forms a key part of our long-term strategic plan.

What’s next for Scentre Group?

Scentre Group is focused on executing its long-term strategy of partnering on its key destinations to unlock value and introduce new capital. Management expects settlement of the ART transaction in early February 2026, while the group continues managing and developing its 42 Westfield destinations.

The company’s plan remains centred on creating attractive, vibrant places for both customers and business partners, while aiming to grow returns for securityholders through innovative partnerships and ongoing development.

Scentre Group share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Scentre Group shares have risen 21%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 7% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Scentre Group brings new partner into Westfield Sydney in $864m deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

Knowing which ASX 200 shares to avoid can be just as important as knowing which ones to buy.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at three popular ASX 200 shares that experts are tipping as sells, courtesy of The Bull. Here’s what they are saying:

PLS Group Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Bell Potter has named PLS Group, formerly known as Pilbara Minerals, as an ASX 200 share to sell.

While it is a fan of the lithium miner, it believes that its recent share price rally has taken it into dangerous territory. Especially if lithium prices don’t rebound as quickly as some expect. It said:

Formerly Pilbara Minerals, this lithium miner’s operational performance remains sound. Despite a strong balance sheet and long term tailwinds from electric vehicles and energy storage, lithium supplies exceed demand in the short term and overshadow any catalysts. The recent share price rally has run stronger than most sharemarket experts expected, with the stock still pricing in a cyclical rebound. Downside risk remains if lithium prices stay lower for longer.

QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

Bell Potter has also named insurance giant QBE as an ASX 200 share to sell.

It is feeling cautious about the company’s outlook given how premium growth is moderating and claim costs are rising. The broker explains:

This insurance giant has recently delivered a strong performance, which included solid returns on equity and a disciplined underwriting approach. However, forward looking conditions appear more mixed. Premium growth is moderating, and rising claims costs in a higher inflation environment may start to erode margins. Also, in our view, the stock’s re-rating during the past year potentially limits upside. Most of the good news has been priced into the stock, so investors may want to consider cashing in some gains.

Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)

Finally, another insurer that has been named as a sell is Suncorp.

Shaw & Partners is feeling bearish due to its insurance risk exposure. And while its shares have pulled back recently, it thinks investors should continue to keep their powder dry. The broker said:

The insurer announced it had received more than 10,000 claims by November 26 in response to recent severe storms in New South Wales and Queensland. The net cost to Suncorp is expected to be about $350 million, according to earlier terms of assessment. About 5000 claims related to motor damage and a further 5000 claims involved homes. Frequent buy-back updates don’t offset insurance risk exposure. The shares have fallen from $21.82 on August 22 to trade at $17.505 on December 18.

The post Experts name 3 ASX 200 shares to sell now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

One of the most dramatic trends on investment markets this year has been the seemingly unstoppable rise of gold, and by extension, ASX gold miners. The precious metal has gone from about US$2,640 an ounce to this week’s record high of US$4,426 over just 2025 to date.

That gain of approximately 67.65% means that gold has eclipsed almost every asset over the past 12 months, including both ASX and US stocks.

This gold price gain has, naturally, resulted in a boom for ASX gold stocks. Miners like Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM), Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU), West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF) and Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) have seen their shares explode this year. Newmont stock, to illustrate, is currently up 163.8% since 1 January.

As a result of this modern-day gold rush, ASX investors might expect to receive a dividend bonanza from their ASX gold shares. After all, that’s what we saw from iron ore miners like Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) in 2022 when iron ore was going through the roof at the time.

Yet far from the 5-8% dividend yields we saw from BHP and Fortescue back in 2022, gold miners are offering much less today. Perseus Mining stock, for instance, currently trades on a yield of 0.92%.

Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) offers investors 1.53%, while Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) comes in above average with its 2.05% yield.

Gold miners tend to be more sensitive to the underlying price of their commodity than iron ore stocks do. As such, the triple-digit gains we have seen in many ASX gold stocks this year have played a significant part in blunting those yields.

Why don’t ASX gold miners pay high dividends at record prices?

But even taking this into account, gold miners still tend to offer far lower levels of income than other mining stocks. So why might this be?Well, it probably comes down to the difficult economics of gold mining.

To illustrate, let’s compare a gold miner like Northern Star Resources to Fortescue.

In its 2025 full-year results from August, Fortescue informed investors that it enjoyed an average price of US$84.79 for every dry metric tonne of iron ore that it sold over FY2025. That compares to an average cost of extraction of US$17.99 per wet metric tonne.

That implies a gross profit margin of 78.78% per tonne

Meanwhile, Northern Star reported a cost of US$2,163 for every ounce of gold that it mined in FY2025. It managed to achieve an average sale price of US$3,922 per ounce over the same period. That’s a gross margin of 44.85%.

So even in the midst of a gold boom, Northern Star is only able to enjoy a gross margin of almost half that of Fortescue. And that’s with Fortescue in the midst of a tough iron ore market.

With that low margin, a gold miner is simply unable to spin off the levels of free cash flow to fund bumper dividends in the same way that a low-cost iron ore miner like Fortescue can. This brutal math is why gold miners are probably never going to be strong dividend payers in the same vein as other ASX mining shares. It’s a different story with those capital gains that ASX gold stocks have enjoyed this year, though.

The post At record prices, why don’t ASX gold miners pay high dividends? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Newmont. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Having a bit of exposure to the small side of the market can be a good thing for a portfolio if your risk tolerance allows it.

You only need to look at the performance of the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries index to see this.

It is up 22% year to date, whereas the S&P/ASX 200 index is only up 7.4%.

But which small cap ASX stocks could be worth considering? Let’s take a look at two that Morgans is positive on. They are as follows:

Atturra Ltd (ASX: ATA)

The first small cap ASX stock that Morgans has been looking at is Attura.  It is a technology company providing a range of enterprise advisory, consulting, IT services, and solutions to local government, utilities, education, defence, federal government, financial services, and manufacturing industries,

It recently revealed the immediate termination of a fixed term contract with an Australian public sector body. While this is disappointing, Morgans believes that significant share price weakness since the announcement has created an opportunity for investors. It said:

ATA have announced a contract dispute which will negatively impact its FY26 and its 1H26 result. Management commented that “Atturra does not have a history of disputes or termination of material contracts and views this as a one-off occurrence. ATA’s balance sheet remains strong, and the Company sees no ongoing impact from this purported termination.” We agree and see this as a largely one-off event. We reduce our forecasts in line with guidance which lowers our TP to 80cps (was 95cps).

Morgans has an accumulate rating and 80 cents price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of 21% for investors over the next 12 months.

PeopleIn Ltd (ASX: PPE)

Another small cap ASX stock that Morgans is positive on is PeopleIn. It is a workforce solutions company servicing over 4,000 businesses.

It focuses on high-demand and defensive employment sectors including engineering, trades and labour, food services and agriculture, technology, finance, corporate services, education and defence.

Morgans was pleased with the company’s decision to divest businesses and believe it will create higher quality earnings. It explains:

PPE has now divested two businesses as it, refocuses on its core competencies, being Queensland infrastructure, food and agriculture, defence and professional services. Whilst the divestments have been opportunistic and at healthy earnings multiples, the impact has been dilutionary to EPS. Offsetting the lower EPS, the residual business should prove higher quality (and higher growth), as the business looks beyond what is approaching cyclically low earnings.

To this end, we continue to see earnings growth driving share price appreciation through FY27/28, with any turnaround unlikely to be visible until 4QFY26. Hence, we reiterate our Speculative Buy rating with a $1.10/sh price target.

Morgans has a speculative buy rating and $1.10 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of 25% over the next 12 months.

The post Morgans names 2 small cap ASX stocks to watch appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Peoplein. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Atturra and Peoplein. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) shares are marching higher today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) global wine company closed yesterday trading for $4.95. In early afternoon trade on Tuesday, shares are changing hands for $5.035 apiece, up 1.7%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.8% at this same time.

As you’re likely aware (or should be if you read the headline!), today’s outperformance is not par for the course for Treasury Wine shares this year.

Despite today’s welcome boost, shares in the ASX 200 wine stock remain down 55.5% year to date.

Those losses will have only been modestly eased by the 40 cents per share in partly franked dividends Treasury Wine paid to eligible stockholders over the year. The ASX 200 stock trades on a trailing dividend yield of 7.9%.

So, after this horror year, is the company now a good buy for 2026?

Should you buy Treasury Wine shares today?

Bell Potter Securities’ Christopher Watt recently ran his slide rule over the Aussie wine company (courtesy of The Bull).

“This global wine giant owns the premium Penfolds brand, among other labels,” Watt said.

As for the big decline in Treasury Wine shares, he noted, “The share price recently plunged after TWE downgraded earnings.”

Watt explained:

The company now expects earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to range between $225 million and $235 million in the first half of fiscal year 2026. Prior EBIT consensus was $334 million.

Indeed, even at the higher end of its revised guidance, investors will have taken note that Treasury Wine’s first-half earnings forecast is down a sharp 30%.

“We are currently experiencing category weakness in the US and China, two of our key growth markets, which will impact our business performance in the near-term,” Treasury Wine CEO Sam Fischer said.

But Watt noted that management isn’t sitting on its laurels.

He said:

The company is taking action to restore channel distribution and is actively reducing inventory levels across China and the United States. The shares have fallen from $7.88 on July 1 to trade at $4.80 on December 18.

Despite that steep sell-down, Watt isn’t quite ready to pull the trigger yet, issuing a hold recommendation on Treasury Wine shares.

According to Watt:

TWE has a strategy, but a recovery will take time. At these price levels, patient investors can hold as the transition towards luxury wine remains a long-term positive. The stock carries calculated risk, so investors should continue to monitor news developments.

The post Down 56% in 2025, are Treasury Wine shares a good buy for 2026? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

If you are a fan of growth shares, then read on!

That’s because listed below are three ASX 200 growth shares that Bell Potter thinks could be among the best to buy in 2026.

Here’s what it is saying about them:

Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA)

The team at Bell Potter thinks the Vegemite owner is well-placed for a period of strong growth thanks to its restructuring and strategy. Commenting on the ASX 200 growth share, it said:

Following recent restructuring announcements, with regard to the closure of Strathmerton and winding down of the PCA operations, there appears a clear pathway towards a $250-270m EBITDA target. If successful in generating this return and having consideration for the cash costs to achieve this target (c$85- 100m), it would imply a share price of $8.00-9.00ps (at BGA’s historical ~12x EBITDA multiple).

In effect, BGA now has a clearly articulated strategy to generating >20% p.a. EPS growth to FY28e. Trading on a FY25-28e PEG ratio of ~1x, BGA is one of the more compelling growth exposures in the sector.

Bell Potter has a buy rating and $7.00 price target on this diversified food company’s shares. Based on its current share price of $6.16, this implies potential upside of 14% for investors over the next 12 months.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

Another ASX 200 growth share that Bell Potter is tipping as a buy is location technology company Life360.

While its performance in the last quarter was softer than expected, the broker believes that this will be a one off and expects it to return to form in the fourth quarter. It said:

Life360 has had a large pullback in its share price like many other stocks in the technology sector (peak of ~$55 in early October down to ~$35 in mid November). Outside of the general correction in the sector there was one factor specific to the company which also drove down the share price – slowing monthly active user or MAU growth in 3Q2025. Q3 is traditionally the strongest quarter for MAU growth so the relatively slow growth was a big surprise and was also not well explained by the company.

Outside of this number, however, everything was as expected or better and importantly paying subscriber growth was still strong. Our view is the outlook remains very positive for the company and the one quarter of relatively soft MAU growth was an aberration. We therefore expect a return to reasonable or even strong MAU growth in 4Q2025, and this could also serve as a potential catalyst for the share price.

Bell Potter has a buy rating and $52.50 price target on its shares. This suggests that upside of 57% is possible for investors between now and this time next year.

Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME)

A final ASX 200 growth share that could be a buy according to Bell Potter is health imaging technology company Pro Medicus.

It thinks Pro Medicus is one of the highest quality companies on the Australian share market. And after years of strong growth, don’t expect a slowdown any time soon. Bell Potter expects the explosive growth to continue. It said:

Pro Medicus is among the highest quality companies on the ASX. CY25 was yet another banner year with 10 major contract announcements, totalling minimum revenues of $445m. We expect EPS growth of 36% in FY26 followed by 30% in FY27. The company continues to announce new contract wins on a regular basis as the drivers of interest in its product offering remain firmly in place. The entire radiology industry is headed to cloud based (off premises) archiving.

Put simply, the Visage 7 viewer, Workflow and Archive are the fastest and most advanced tools for the retrieval and viewing of large radiology files. The platform is immensely scalable and relatively easily installed, providing it with a sustainable competitive advantage over the likes of peers Intelerad, Sectra, Phillips and GE Healthcare. The company is conservatively managed and well owned by large institutional investors while the two founders continue to have a controlling stake.

Bell Potter has a buy rating and $320.00 price target on its shares. Based on its current share price of $232.93, this implies potential upside of 37% for investors over the next 12 months.

The post Bell Potter names the best ASX 200 growth shares to buy in 2026 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Life360 and Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Life360. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Life360. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) share price is 0.02% lower in lunchtime trade on Tuesday. At the time of writing, the stock is changing hands at $115.60 a piece.

The share price peaked at an all-time high of $194.21 in late June but has since tumbled nearly 79% to today’s trading price. For 2025 so far, the shares are down 31.02%.

What happened to Xero shares in 2025?

The company posted lower-than-expected FY25 results in May, followed quickly by news of a US$2.5 billion acquisition of US-based Melio in June.

Investors weren’t happy with the move and offloaded shares in the New Zealand-based cloud-based accounting software company in a panic about the deal’s size and its projected cash flow. The deal was completed in mid-October, but investor confidence never recovered.

Later in November, Xero investors reacted unfavourably to the company’s FY26 interim results, selling off more of the stock.

The company’s FY26 results revealed a 20% increase in operating revenue to NZ$1,194 million. This was driven by ANZ revenue growth of 17% and a 24% jump in International revenue. Xero’s EBITDA increased 21% to NZ$377.9 million. The company’s net operating result was a little behind expectations, but its EBITDA was ahead. Its total operating expenses as a percentage of revenue are now expected to be around 70.5% in FY26.

Later in the same month, Xero was caught up in the ASX 200 tech sector sell-off. The sector decline, particularly of high‑valuation and AI‑linked tech names like Xero, follows investor concerns about overheated valuations and an AI bubble. 

But analysts think the investor reaction has been way overdone and the sell-off unfounded.

Huge upside ahead in 2026

According to TradingView data, most analysts are bullish on Xero shares for 2026. Out of 15 analysts, 12 have a buy or strong buy rating on the stock. The average target price is $184.80 but the maximum is a whopping $229.73 per share. That’s around double the $115.60 share price at the time of writing and implies an upside of over 98%.

UBS says that it is positive on the medium term growth outlook for Xero and believes the current share price is an “attractive buying opportunity”. The broker has a $194 price target on the shares.

Ord Minnett also sees significant value in the shares. Last month, the broker put a buy rating and $200 price target on them. This implies a potential upside of approximately 80% for investors.

Macquarie is more bullish on the stock. The broker has an outperform rating and $228.90 price target on the shares, saying the company is well-positioned for growth in the US.

The post Prediction: Xero stock is going to double in 2026 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group and Xero. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

2025 has been a spectacular year for some commodities.

For example, the gold price has jumped by about 70% since early January to reach a new record high on Monday.

This powerful rally has also helped some of the leading ASX 200 gold miners to deliver outsized returns for their shareholders.

Take Newmont Corporation CDI (ASX: NEM) and Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN).

Shares in both companies are up by more than 160% so far this year.

But gold isn’t the only metal breaking new ground.

Silver and copper pushed to record highs at the start of this week, whilst lithium has also posted strong gains in recent months.

Such favourable pricing environments help boost the earnings prospects of mining companies and drive strength across the sector.

And broadly speaking, mining stocks have enjoyed a powerful and wide-ranging rally in 2025.

The four exchange traded funds (ETFs) presented below help paint a picture of how strong this momentum has been.

In essence, each of the following mining-related ETFs just hit a new record high.

VanEck Australian Resources ETF (ASX: MVR)

This ETF offers exposure to a portfolio of ASX mining and energy stocks operating across a wide range of commodities.

Its largest holdings include diversified mining titan BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and iron ore giant Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG).

Today, shares in this ASX ETF reached their highest level since the fund’s inception in 2013.

They have now risen by 37% since the start of the year, changing hands at $43.83 per share at the time of writing.

VanEck Gold Miners AUD ETF (ASX: GDX)

Founded in 2015, this ASX ETF provides exposure to the world’s largest gold miners, mostly located outside Australia.

However, it holds positions in some renowned ASX 200 gold producers such as Newmont and Evolution.

Shares in this ETF hit an all-time peak in today’s session, reaching as high as $138.63 per share.

They are now up by 150% since the start of the year.

Betashares Energy Transition Metals ETF (ASX: XMET)

This ETF offers exposure to a portfolio of global companies producing metals for the world’s energy transition.

In a nutshell, the push to reduce carbon emissions has seen the mining industry tasked with delivering the critical metals for a cleaner world.

So, metals such as lithium, rare earths, silver, and copper are taking on an increasingly important role.

Today, shares in this ASX ETF also reached their highest level since the fund’s inception in 2022.

They have now risen by 98% in 2025, climbing to $14.68 each at the time of writing.

Global X Copper Miners AUD ETF (ASX: WIRE)

This ASX ETF has been providing access to the world’s leading copper miners since its founding in late 2022.

Copper boasts widespread industrial applications.

It is also becoming growingly significant in AI data centres, as well as electric vehicles and associated infrastructure.

Shares in this ETF also reached a new all-time high in today’s session.

All up, they have now soared by 75% since the start of January.

The post From gold to copper and lithium: Mining stocks are on a tear and these 4 ASX ETFs tell the story appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bart Bogacz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

There’s still time to buy Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares for Christmas.

Though not much.

The ASX is open for normal trading today and operates on a shortened trading day tomorrow, 24 December.

In late morning trade today, Woolworths shares are in the red.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) supermarket giant closed yesterday trading for $29.38. At time of writing, shares are changing hands for $29.29 apiece, down 0.3%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.5% at this same time.

As you’re likely aware, it’s been a rough year for Australia’s biggest supermarket.

With today’s intraday dip factored in, Woolies stock is down 3.9% year to date, trailing the 6.7% gains delivered by the benchmark index over this same period.

Though that’s not including the 84 cents a share in fully franked dividends Woolworths paid eligible stockholders over the year. The ASX 200 stock currently trades on a 2.9% fully franked trailing dividend yield.

Looking ahead, however, Bell Potter Securities’ Christopher Watt believes shareholders will be more amply rewarded in 2026 (courtesy of The Bull).

We’ll look at why in just a tick.

Buit first…

Why did Woolworths shares come under pressure?

The biggest headwind to impede the ASX 200 supermarket this year was the release of the company’s FY 2025 results on 27 August.

Investors responded to those results by sending Woolworths shares down 14.7% on the day. And the stock remained under pressure, plumbing multi-year lows of $25.91 on 14 October.

Investors were clearly concerned over rising costs, with the company reporting a 0.66% increase in cost of doing business to 23.3%. And Woolies’ gross margin declined by 0.07% year on year to 27.2%.

Earnings also went backwards, with FY 2025 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) declining by 12.6% to $2.75 billion.

With costs up and earnings down, net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1.39 billion fell by 17.1% year on year.

And passive income investors would not have been happy with the 21.1% cut in the final dividend payout of 45 cents per share, fully franked.

Now, that’s the year gone by.

Here’s why Bell Potter Securities’ Christopher Watt sees a light at the end of the tunnel for Woolworths shares.

Should you buy the ASX 200 supermarket giant today?

“After a challenging period marked by margin pressure and earnings downgrades, Woolworths is showing early signs of stabilisation,” said Watt, citing his first reason to buy the stock.

“Recent trading updates indicate improving momentum in core divisions, particularly Australian Food and B2B (Business-to-Business), suggesting the worst may be behind WOW,” he added.

As for the third reason you may want to buy Woolworths shares for Christmas, Watt concluded:

Given the supermarket giant generates solid cash flow, WOW stands out among consumer staples. As market sentiment improves, so too should investor confidence in the group’s earnings outlook.

The post 3 reasons to buy Woolworths shares for Christmas appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Woolworths Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) shares are 0.045% higher in Tuesday morning trade. At the time of writing, the shares are changing hands at $67.26 a piece. For 2025 so far, the shares have dropped 45.71%.

The logistics software provider’s stock has faced several headwinds this year. 

In October, WiseTech investors were spooked by news that the company’s Sydney headquarters had been searched by the Australian Federal Police and ASIC. The raid was in relation to alleged insider trading by Richard White and other staff members during late 2024 to early 2025.

No charges have been laid against the software company itself, but board resignations, leadership instability, and investor uncertainty have accelerated the share price decline.

Shortly after, the ASX 200 tech sector suffered an overall dramatic sell-off in late November. And WiseTech shares were caught up in the turmoil. The sector suffered from investor concerns about overheated valuations and an AI bubble. 

But the business is still solid…

Despite the turmoil, WiseTech’s underlying business is robust. It is a global leader in logistics software, with expanding operations and a proven track record of growth. Its flagship product, CargoWise, enables freight and logistics companies to easily and smoothly manage shipments, customs, and compliance.

The company has previously demonstrated resilience and growth through economic cycles, too. And it’s well-positioned to benefit from increased interest trends like automation and cloud computing.

Over the past five years, the business was also able to double its revenue to US$778.7 million. And for FY26, management expects revenue to grow about 80% to around US$1.4 billion. However, the company has also forecast an EBITDA margin of between 40%-41% for FY26, down from 49% in FY25, mostly due to consolidation integration costs following the acquisition of e2open Parent Holdings.

Are the shares a buy, sell, or hold for 2026?

Analysts’ sentiment is mostly very positive for the outlook of WiseTech shares next year. TradingView data indicates that 14 out of 16 analysts have assigned a buy or strong buy rating to the stock. The average target price is $110.33, but some anticipate the shares could rocket as high as $178.16 over the next 12 months. That implies an enormous 162.91% potential upside at the time of writing. Even the average target price implies a huge 62.58% upside.

If WiseTech shares reach these levels, or even come close to them, then the current trading price of $67.26 presents a fantastic opportunity to buy the stock at a bargain price ahead of the next rebound.

The post Is WiseTech a buy, sell or hold in 2026? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Domino’s, HMC Capital, Regis Healthcare, and WiseTech shares are falling today
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Motley Fool contributor Samantha Menzies has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.